Hoover residents voted yes to keep school quality high

Hoover voters spoke clearly last week when they agreed to extend the city's 24-mill property tax for schools an extra 19 years.

The 73 percent approval rating for the tax extension is a pretty strong show of support for the measure.

The last time Hoover voters were asked to approve a property tax renewal was 2004. The question then was whether to renew two 3-mill property taxes for the portion of Hoover in Shelby County. Residents there OK'd that tax renewal with only a 60 percent approval.

But school officials should not read more into last week's vote than it actually says.

Schools Superintendent Andy Craig was correct in saying the vote is "once again the community's affirmation of support for the school system."

Hoover residents do support their schools, and they are willing to put their money where their mouth is. But the vote does not necessarily mean that residents agree with how all the money is being spent.

My guess -- or informed opinion based on watching Hoover over the past decade -- is that Hoover residents are by and large proud of the school system they have built over two decades and they don't want to see its quality decline. They fear that with less funding, it would indeed decline.

Just ask Bob McCabe, a Bluff Park resident who said he voted in favor of the tax extension. Hoover schools were good when he had a child in the system, and he wants to make sure they stay that way for future generations, possibly including his grandchildren, he said. Plus, continued funding for the school system should help keep property values up for whenever he decides to sell his home, he said.

John Dicas, who lives off Patton Chapel Road, said he, too, voted in favor of the tax extension. "I believe in the education system and having it funded right," Dicas said. " I think the need for education is going to continue to grow."

He doesn't know what form education will take in the future, but "I think the facilities need to be made available for youth to be educated properly," he said.

And, like it or not, Hoover school officials are using the 24-mill fund for more than just facilities, buses and technology. This fiscal year, their budget calls for transferring $40 million from the 24-mill fund to the general fund to cover operating expenses. The school system has come to depend on the 24-mill fund for existence, not just for handling growth.

With funding cuts from the city and state due to declining revenues, belt-tightening is a must for Hoover City Schools. But Hoover residents don't want to have to tighten the belt so much that they end up cutting off their circulation.